The Pursuit of Chronically Reliable Neural Interfaces: A Materials Perspective

Brain–computer interfaces represent one of the most astonishing technologies in our era. However, the grand challenge of chronic instability and limited throughput of the electrode–tissue interface has significantly hindered the further development and ultimate deployment of such exciting technologies. A multidisciplinary research workforce has been called upon to respond to this engineering need. In this paper, I briefly review this multidisciplinary pursuit of chronically reliable neural interfaces from a materials perspective by analyzing the problem, abstracting the engineering principles, and summarizing the corresponding engineering strategies. I further draw my future perspectives by extending the proposed engineering principles.